Munich

Synopsis: In the aftermath of the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympic Games in 1972, a Mossad-backed squad of hit-men is sent to track down and assassinate those responsible for masterminding the atrocity. Led by intelligence officer Avner (Eric Bana), this secret squad consists of South African get-away driver Steve (Daniel Craig), German Jewish forgery expert Hans (Hanns Zischler), Belgian explosives expert, Robert (Mathieu Kassovitz); and Carl (Ciaran Hinds), whose job is to see that everything is done cleanly, with no loss of innocent lives. As the mission progresses, the men start to have doubts as to whether this really is the appropriate response, and gradually their own lives are under threat.

This is a very atypical film for Spielberg. Gone is the extra-terrestrial fascination of Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977), the rollicking adventure of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), the gruelling but over-simplified horror of Schindler's List (1993) and the earnestness of Saving Private Ryan (1998) . With Munich he tackles a subject guaranteed to create controversy, especially since he attempts to show both sides of the equation, though no doubt the pro-Palestinian camp will say he comes down on the side of Israel. However, I think it a brave move on Spielberg's part to even refer to the fact that Palestinians have a grievance, especially considering the ghastly nature of the Munich atrocity. Rabid Israel supporters will no doubt bag him for even that, so he's in a no-win situation.

Political debate aside, the film views very well as a gripping thriller, with international settings ranging from Geneva to Frankfurt, Rome, Paris, Cyprus, London and Beirut. The opening scenes, involving drunken US athletes inadvertently helping the Munich killers get access to the Olympic village, are nail-biting, and being shot in a quasi-documentary style and followed by real news footage of the hostage crisis convince us of their authenticity. Spielberg makes an excellent choice to hold off showing the outcome of the crisis - he chooses rather to intersperse it gradually throughout the film, both building tension and reminding the audience of why this mission is being undertaken. One particularly clunky scene however involves the final debacle of the slaughter of the athletes, overlaid onto a scene of the now-distraught Avner making love to his wife. Bad call Steve!

The first couple of assassinations are suspensefully handled, but as the mission advances there is an element of viewing it as "assassination by numbers", and there is a slightly repetitive edge. Of more fascination is the shadowy world of international intelligence, as names and locations of suspects are bought from a Frenchman Louis (Matthieu Amalrac) who, along with his father, (Michael Lonsdale) spouts some pretty heavy reflections on the morality of governments and international intelligence.

The issue of fighting violence with violence is at the core of the film, and Spielberg really seems to be making a heartfelt plea for a more rational alternative to the revenge syndrome that currently fuels the Middle East conflict. As one of the squad says, "Each time we kill one we create six more", and Avner declares "There will be no peace at the end of this." Counter to this is the official Israeli position, espoused by Mossad chief Ephraim (Geoffrey Rush) who tells Avner, "You killed for peace", and Avner's mother who says "Whatever it took, we have a place on earth".

Bana is surprisingly convincing as an Israeli, and his emotional journey as he grapples with the moral ambiguities of his task is well handled. Also he has a credible Israeli accent, which unfortunately I can't say for Rush, who fine actor though he is, cannot nail it. Despite the unusual choices of actors for the others in the hit squad, they generally seem quite believable, although, disappointingly, we never really find out much about their characters beyond their role in the mission.

Although it won't go down as Spielberg's best-ever film, Munich is a solid thriller but it is also an important film. If the cycle of terror is ever to be broken it is vital to examine the past and the moral implications inherent in such responses.

 

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